Gillingham will be glad of the rest this week.

Boss Steve Lovell admitted weekend opponents Coventry City looked fresher when the two sides met at Priestfield.

The Gills drew the match 1-1, thanks to a great goal from Elliott List, on an afternoon where they had been second best.

Report: Gillingham 1 Coventry City 1

Lovell's side lost 4-1 to Sunderland on Wednesday and the manager said: "Coventry had an extra day recovery after playing Tuesday, they made five changes from their game and it looked as if they had fresh legs about them. We looked leggy.

"You obviously don't think that will happen, you hope to perform how you have done (in previous games), but as soon as the game started I could sense we weren't as sharp as we had been."

The Gills don't have a first-team game scheduled this week.

"It gives the boys a rest and we can get them back to being sharp because that sharpness was missing," said the manager.

The Gills picked up a couple of injuries in the match too, with Mark Byrne and Regan Charles-Cook both limping off with hamstring injuries. Both played on Wednesday and the tough schedule could have been a factor.

Asked if it contributed, the manager said: "Yes I think so, with the pitch as well, being heavy with the rain, but they are professionals and they have to deal with these things."

Despite the problems, the Gills managed to equalise with 20 minutes left and Lovell went for the win, leaving four strikers on the pitch in the latter stages.

He said: "I just thought that when we got the equaliser we could go on and nick another. I went to three at the back because they only had one upfront, I took a risk.

"You take a point at the end but I wanted to try and win the game. When you have got players who can win it for you, you might as well have a go, but It wasn't to be. We had a couple of opportunities, especially first half, a couple of good ones but not as many as we had been creating and that was down to the sharpness of the boys."